The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design. – F.A. Hayek
Posted in Economists, Politics on Oct 16th, 2008
WHAM TV here in Rochester wanted to know what I thought about the President’s ability to impact the economy. Read the Hayek quote at the top of this website to understand what I was trying to say. Real economics is not conducive to 30 second news-bites, but Elizabeth Schubert did as admirable a job as [...]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy on Oct 16th, 2008
Before I watch a Presidential debate (or VP debate) there is a glimmer of hope inside me that I might hear just a few minutes of discussion that is not complete nonsense. While last night’s was not nearly as bad as some previous debates, two canards were oft repeated and I wonder what they really [...]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy on Oct 15th, 2008
You might be forgiven for expecting that during the harvest season that prices for the things being harvested are lower than at times of the year when these crops are less commonly available. I expect that too.
Posted in Money on Oct 14th, 2008
Over time people have come to adopt a wide variety of instruments as means of payment. In more pastoral days, gold and silver and other specie were commonly accepted means of payment. In recent times, not only is paper currency accepted, but so too are credit cards, Paypal, e-Gold, etc. One consequence of this is [...]
Posted in Employment on Oct 13th, 2008
During the last business cycle (the recession was in March-Nov 2001), total non-farm private employment fell from a peak of 111.681 million in December 2000 to a trough of 108.231 million in July 2003.
Posted in Welfare State on Oct 10th, 2008
There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it’s only a hundred billion. It’s less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers.” That is from the late great physicist Richard Feynman. HT to Jay Nerger.
Posted in Education on Oct 9th, 2008
Every news item seems to contain a Clarion Call for us to wake up and “do something” about the latest tragedy. And what is the tragedy du jour?
Posted in Corporatism on Oct 9th, 2008
Bryan Caplan points out: If someone said, “So the economy’s tanking. That’s capitalism,” everyone would assume the speaker wanted to limit capitalism. But when someone says, “That’s democracy,” we assume the speaker wants to end the conversation. Democracy is truly the sacred cow of the modern world. He was referencing Barney Frank’s justification for the [...]
Posted in Government Thuggery, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Oct 8th, 2008
Somehow, I suspect that the following news headline wouldn’t be as palatable as this one:
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Oct 7th, 2008
A Japanese student of mine brought to my attention the following story. His hometown of Yamate in Yokohama, Japan is a place is high historical significance.
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